On this occasion, Deputy Defense Minister, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh granted an interview to the People’s Army Newspaper. Reporter: Foreign relations conducted via exchanges and cooperation activities in border areas have become a highlight in defense cooperative ties between Vietnam and China. Could you please tell us more about what should be done to bring more substantial effects? Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh: Most importantly, the exchange must be maintained. To get this done, we must be clearly determined that the exchange each year must benefit both Vietnam and China. Those benefits are also for the common interests of the two countries, for the cooperation between the two militaries, and for areas along the shared borderline. It should be noted that not just the places where the exchange takes place, but the whole areas along the shared borderline will benefit from the activities of the event. As for a border exchange, the most important content is the exchange of information to find out detailed and particular initiatives, regulations and actions that assist the management and construction of a borderline of peace and friendship, in line with the law while respecting each country’s sovereignty, providing favorable conditions for border people to stabilize their life. Therefore, in each exchange, we must consider the benefits that it may bring about and what should be done to develop the overall Vietnam-China defense relations and develop the shared borderline in an increasingly stable manner and to make people understand that they benefit… [Read full story]